Inside Your Mind
by eseiprahs1
Summary: Kid Flash is in a comatose state and it's up to the Young Justice team to get him out of it. What is inside the mind of Wally West? What secret are hidden inside that the team does not know about? Based mostly from Teen Titans episode, "Nevermore"
1. Chapter 1

This fanfic was inspired by a Justice League fic I read the other day (I'll put the name of the fic on here if I find it again) and the Teen Titans episode, "Nevermore"

**Summary: **Kid Flash is in a comatose state and it's up to the Young Justice team to get him out of it. What is inside the mind of Wally West? What secret are hidden inside that the team does not know about?

ENJOY.

...

Inside Your Mind

CI

"Kid, can you hear me?" Flash asked, touching his nephew's forehead in a parenting way. "Come Wally wake up." He was starting to sound desperate even though he tried hiding it from the younger heroes in the room.

M'gaan had her hands to her temples as she tried to connect into Wally's mind; she looked for any sign he was still with them, if he was able to hear them, whether he still had thoughts, _anything._ But she heard nothing and she lowered her hands slowly from her head and looked down at the floor sadly.

Robin watched as his mentor went over to the Flash, his hands clenched at his sides tightly. He remembered they had been battling Scarecrow when a spherical object had rolled right beside the red-haired hero. It exploded, letting out a bright-almost blinding-green color. Robin could still remember watching his friend's silhouette, barely able to make out, as his knees buckled and he slouched to the ground.

...

_1 hour before_

Aqualad and Robin ran up to their fallen companion, what they saw made them stop momentarily in shock and slight fear. His mouth was open slightly as trickles of blood dripped down his chin, but since his face was upwards it caused the blood to trail down the side of his face to his ear. His eyes were no longer the dazzling emerald green, instead they were fogged over; they gave off the impression of a blind person's eyes, the pupils were milky and unseeing. He looked like he was right at the brink of a silent scream.

The two friends recovered and immediately went to his side, thankfully the battling around them had ended so there was no danger of them getting attacked from lack of attention.

"Wally!" Robin cried in childlike fear. His worst thought was that his friend was dead, because he certainly appeared to be.

But when Aqualad pressed two fingers to Kid Flash's neck, he could still feel a pulse. And it wasn't faint either, it was calmer, but that was just because of his unconscious state.

"C'mon Robin, we have to get him out of here," the teenage leader said gently.

Robin looked up at him and nodded silently. Aqualad scooped up the speedster in his arms carefully and turned to start walking back to the bio ship. The two heroes didn't halt in their quick walking even when their other teammates ran up and asked what had happened to their friend.

Aqualad was the first in the bioship and he went to the back; he laid his friend down on the bed that was specifically for the purpose if anyone was injured or unconscious. The leader silently contemplated whether he should cover the speedster's face so the others couldn't see the horror, especially M'gaan. But he then denied that option. Aqualad heard footsteps behind him and he turned to see M'gaan, Superboy, and Zatanna.

"What's wrong with Baywatch?" Artemis asked as she came up next to the bed. But when she looked down at him, she didn't have a chance to say anything more as a quiet, fearful squeal came out of M'gaan's mouth.

The green martian immediately put her hands to her mouth at the site of her friend. Superboy put his hand on her shoulder and asked-without removing his eyes from Kid Flash- "What happened to him?"

"We aren't sure, but we think it has something to do with that bright green gas that we saw," Aqualad answered.

"Fear gas?" Artemis asked, having heard of the weapon but never having seen it used first-hand.

"Fear gas is not what caused this," Robin said darkly from behind them. He then made his way next to his best friend and place his hand gently on his shoulder, he still felt his friend's warm body heat that normally radiated from him. "It had to be some new type of weapon."

M'gaan's hands left her mouth and in a slightly quivering voice she asked, "What's that?"

She was referring to a piece of paper that was gripped tightly in the speedster's hand. Robin gripped it but found it rather difficult to pull out of his teammates grasp. Weren't unconscious features supposed to be limp? He had to pry his stiff fingers off of the note and then slip it out of his hand. The fingers stayed in the same position that Robin had put them in. The sight of his hand unnaturally still in that awkward position, pointer and middle finger up and slightly bent while the others stayed in the grasping position, sent shivers down Robin's spine. He opened up the note just as he heard Aqualad announce that he was going to start the bioship, M'gaan was requested to go with him and she followed hesitantly.

"What's it say?" Artemis asked as Robin glared at the note; he handed it to her.

The handwriting was like chicken scratch, but Artemis and Superboy could still make out what it said:

_Do you kids like puzzles?_

_Find all of the pieces and put them together_

_The mind is a funny little place_

_Sometimes you have to look really REALLY deep inside in order to find_

_The exact pieces you're looking for_

Artemis frowned even deeper at the note and Superboy asked, "What is this supposed to mean?"

Robin didn't answer and looked down at his yellow-clad friend again. The blood that had traveled from his mouth down to his ear was now drying; his fogged and milky eyes still unseeing at the ceiling; his mouth still agape in the start of a scream.

...

_Present time_

Martian Manhunter read the note over for the tenth time. He had his hand to his chin thoughtfully as M'gaan said excitedly, "I hear something!"

Everyone turned to her, wanting to know what she was hearing from their unconscious friend. "I don't hear _him _specifically," M'gaan said. The bond was then broken and she took a breath before continuing, "I heard laughing, crying, screaming, talking…but they were all so faint."

No one had a chance to say anything more as Martian Manhunter announced, "I think I know how we can get Kid Flash out of this comatose state."

"Well then tell us!" Robin said impatiently; Batman looked at his sidekick disapprovingly but said nothing.

"This might sound crazy, but I think we need to go inside Kid Flash's mind in order to wake him up."

"If you're talking therapy, I don't think he's in any state to tell us much," Black Canary said from off to the side.

"Not like that," Martian Manhunter replied. "I mean physically go inside his mind. Flash, it would probably be best if you stayed here with him in case he wakes up. For all we know, he could wake up to the same effects as fear gas; and if he has that kind of waking stress if could cause problems for the others inside his head."

Flash nodded but then said, "But wouldn't it be better if I were in there with-"

"No Barry," Batman said. "Martian Manhunter's right."

"But we will send you if we find it definitely necessary," Martian Manhunter said and the Flash nodded again.

"Woah, woah, wait!" Artemis said, holding up her hands. "Who is going inside KF's mind?"

"You all are," Batman replied seriously-knowing, however, that there would be protest from the blonde.

"I do _not _feel comfortable going inside of his mind! Who knows what goes on up there?" Artemis argued.

"Well would you rather him stay like this or us go in and save him?" Robin asked coldly, shutting Artemis up immediately. "He'd go right away if that was you on that bed."

Artemis stared at the younger boy in shock; his tone was cold and angry. Aqualad came forward and said, "Robin is right, Artemis."

The archer then said nothing and she looked down at the floor.

M'gaan walked over to the still, rigid form of her friend and touched his forehead. She then reached out her other hand to Robin who stood next to her; grasped it and the line continued, all of the friends grabbed the other's hand. M'gaan's eyes glowed bright as they opened and they all felt a strong whoosh of air and a suction-y feeling all around.

The young heroes were then thrown to the ground rather violently and they all let out 'oomphs' when they hit. Robin groaned as he sat up, he then looked around to see his puzzled friends sitting up as well. And where they were was…

"We're back at Mount Justice," Superboy stated more than questioned.

"But…I don't understand," M'gaan said as she looked around at what was considered the living room area of the base. "I connected! And I…I still feel connected."

"Well something must have gone wrong," Aqualad said. "Let's head back to the Med Bay and-"

There was then a giggling that reminded the team of Robin whenever he did his signature laugh. It made them all looked around in curiosity. Artemis then said, "That sounded a lot like-"

"Hey guys!" Kid Flash ran into the room and skidded to a stop in front of them, his hand up in a wave. He wasn't in his uniform, however, like the last time they'd seen him.

"KF!" Robin said, surprised. "What-how did you-?"

"You're awake," Superboy stated again.

Wally laughed as he sprinted over to Superboy and ruffled his hair, making the boy cringe and scowl slightly. "No I'm not, silly!"

The four tipped their heads in curiosity at this statement; he had answered it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. But it was then that they noticed what he was wearing and Robin snickered into the back of his hand.

"Dude, why are you wearing that outfit?" he asked.

Wally looked down at himself, smile going away only momentarily. He wore a white, short-sleeved button up shirt with a pink t-shirt underneath. His jeans were a pale, almost glowing, bright blue. His smile then reappeared as bright as before. "Because I'm extremely happy today, that's why!"

M'gaan smiled, enjoying seeing her friend like this rather than the way he was on the Med Bay table. She walked up to him and gave him a huge hug. "I know this isn't really you but it's so good to see you like this rather than-" she didn't finish her sentence as her face fell.

Wally grabbed her up in a hug as well and swung her around, "It's nice to see you too M'gaan!" he cheered.

Artemis scowled and marched up to the gleeful figure. He let M'gaan, who was now slightly dizzy but still grinning, go. "Alright Baywatch, tell us how to wake you up so we can get out of here."

Wally didn't retort, instead he continued grinning at her widely. "Oh Artemis, you silly! I can't just _tell_ you."

Artemis glared at him, he was way too happy; even happier than usual. "And why not?" she snapped.

"Because you have to find all of me!" Wally answered.

"How do we do that?" Superboy asked.

"I can show you if you want!" Wally offered.

"That would be nice," Artemis answered sarcastically.

"You're just a little grumpy gills aren't you?" Wally said, still wildly chipper. "Turn that frown…" he put his fingers on either side of her mouth and moved them upwards into a smile, "…upside down Arty!"

Robin, M'gaan, Aqualad, and Superboy all grinned at the surprised expression that came over Artemis' face. It was almost as if she was lost without Wally arguing with her.

Artemis slapped his hands away and her face went back to scowling again. "Stop that!"

Wally continued smiling even though Artemis had slapped his hands. Aqualad's grin then disappeared, feeling that they needed to get to work, and he asked, "Could you help us find the other parts of you?"

"Sure!" Wally answered brightly. "Just follow me!"

The speedster then started humming and skipping out of the room, he did a full body twirl before rounding the corner.

Robin snickered again; he definitely wasn't going to let Wally live this down.

..

...

i didnt get a chance to proofread yet so if there are any mistakes sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much for all of the reviews! I really appreciate your feedback a lot! And I updated as soon as possible so you all wouldn't have to wait for too long. I know how aggravated and impatient I get whenever a story I like takes forever to be updated. Yeah…been there. So here's the newest installment!

**Warning: **Some heavy language is ahead along with disturbing themes. More will be in the next chapter as well.

ENJOY.

**Inside Your Mind**

**C2**

Wally led the way, humming to himself while the others followed. They had all noticed that there was no one else in the base; their mentors were nowhere in sight.

"So Wally…" M'gaan said, seeming to read the other's minds, though her doing so seemed like a definite possibility.

"Hm?" he hummed cheerfully.

"Where are the others?" she asked.

"Who? You mean Flash, Batman, and the other Justice League members?" Wally asked as he turned around and started walking backwards.

His teammates nodded in response.

"I don't know where they are at the moment actually," he admitted. "Normally it's just me inside here though, unless I decide to venture out to the other parts of my mind."

"What do you mean other parts?" Aqualad asked.

"Wellllll…" his eyes went up the ceiling and he then spun back around and faced the dead end they had come to. "Here's the entrance to one!"

There was silence for a moment before Artemis broke it. She crossed her arms. "That's a wall."

"Sorry Arty, but you're wrong on that one!" he waggled his finger at her.

"You-you're sorry I'm wrong?" she stammered. Normally he took her being wrong with full grasp and used it against her in an argument. Wally touched the surface of the dead end and it seemed to wobble like jell-o, the surface then became transparent.

The team walked forward and looked through it, they could make out smudge-like figures through the thick, rubbery, clear substance.

Wally then walked right through the clear, squishy wall, creating a hole in his wake. The team looked at each other, shrugged, and followed suit. Immediately, Robin's foot landed in a puddle as he stepped out. They all looked around and were expecting what they normally saw when leaving Mount Justice. But this, however, was not Happy Harbor. In fact, it didn't look happy at all. The alley way they were in was wide enough for three people side-by-side; its sidewalk was grimy and wet from the rain that was falling gently down. Looking up was a dreary, grey sky.

"Wally, where are w-" M'gaan started to ask but then realized that the red-head was nowhere in sight. "Where'd he go?"

"Wally!" Robin called out to his friend; perhaps he had sped on without them. Robin then noticed the gentle rain drops that were falling on them.

"Perfect, just perfect," Artemis grumbled. "Now we're stuck in the city of depressingville and the weirdo ditches us." Gentle thunder then rumbled all around them and rain poured down harder.

The team was already soaked by the time they left the alleyway. Emerging out, the city didn't become any less anguished. There were people here, however.

"Excuse me sir have you seen-" Aqualad started to ask a passing gentleman, but the man continued walking. He tried again, going to gently touch someone's shoulder for attention but his hand just went right through the man. Aqualad pulled his hand away, leaving a smoky trail behind. He looked at his own hand, it was like that was all he had grabbed, smoke. "Where are we?"

It was as if they had stepped into a silent, black and white movie. There was no other color except for them; even the smoke people with no expressions were black and white. They all seemed unaffected by the rain as it pelted down hard.

They walked along streets and alleyways trying to find their red-haired friend but had no success. How hard could it be to find someone with red hair in a colorless city?

"We have looked everywhere," Artemis said. "I say we just go on and try to find a way out of this place."

"I do not think that would be the best plan of action," Aqualad insisted.

"It's Wally's mind, he needs to guide us through it," Robin said.

"Well that fire head isn't helping us now, now is he?" she snapped at the boy wonder. "I mean seriously, who does he think he is just leaving us here in his brain!"

A shuffle was then heard from behind them and they all spun around to see Wally emerge from an alleyway. The rain poured hard on his black hoodie and grey jeans; his hands were tucked loosely into his pockets as he trudged slowly out of the narrow area. He then caught their eye but didn't have a chance to say anything as Artemis pounced.

"Where have you been!" she cried. "We've been looking everywhere for you! How dare you just ditch us like that you little-" she stopped, however as she saw the way he had slouched under her glare and shouts; he looked at her with an expression of great sadness and forlorn.

"I'm s-sorry," he stammered as a tear fell down his face.

The others were surprised, they had never seen Wally cry before. Artemis automatically felt guilty but didn't have a chance to say anything more as Robin came up to the sad boy. "Woah there, easy KF," he soothed. "She didn't mean it."

"It's no big deal," Wally said, his saddened expression not leaving his face. "I get yelled at a lot anyway."

"What are you talking about?" M'gaan asked, her mouth was pulled into a frown as was the rest of the team's.

Wally didn't answer but instead looked at the wet ground and he dragged his left foot back and forth across the gravel, not making eye contact with any of them. Aqualad decided to not press the matter any further and said, "Could you help us?"

The boy looked up at them with the same sad expression that he had before. The deep frown and small furrows of his eyebrows never left; there was a watery look to his eyes as if he were about to cry. There were seemingly permanent frown lines under his eyes and around his mouth. He no longer wore the bright outfit from before, instead he was clothed in a black hoodie and grey jeans. It was like he was a completely different person.

"Can you help us please, Wally?" Aqualad tried again, seeing as the boy looked reluctant. "We're trying to wake you up but we need all of the…specific pieces in order to do so."

Wally slouched even more, if possible, and looked at them again, finally. "I suppose I can," he said rather gloomily and hesitantly. "But I don't know if you want me to."

"Why would we not want you to help us, Wally?" Superboy asked in a gentle voice, one of the gentlest tones the team had ever heard him use with the speedster.

"If I help you th-then…you all will be faced with certain obstacles and-" Wally started stammering, tears starting to fill his vision again.

"We are willing to face those obstacles, Wally," Aqualad said gently as he went up and placed a hand on his shoulder. The red-head tensed at the touch but didn't move out of it.

Artemis looked at the others, they all were acting so careful around the red-headed hero as though he might break with any kind of rough words. They were treating him as though he were a piece of glass. Fragile. And she knew that Wally could really hate being treated like that; and he hated appearing as though he were. But looking at this person, it was as though this was all this side of Wally was. Fragile.

"O-okay," the speedster stammered again. "But by the time I'm finished taking you out of here, you all probably won't want to be my friends anymore."

It was at this that M'gaan spoke up again. "Wally, that's not true," she protested. "We are your friends through…through, um…thick and thin!"

Normally the small moment of confusion from the martian would have made Wally grin in amusement. But this Wally didn't find humor in it, the others weren't even sure if this piece of their friend _knew _humor.

"Well I'm just letting you know, that I understand if you all don't like me by the end of this," Wally said as he turned away from them. They then heard one last, watery sentence, " Artemis already doesn't like me."

The archer felt as though a strong fist was using her heart as a stress ball; her chest got tight with pain at his words. He thought that she hated him. She did though, didn't she?

"Wally…I-I don't-" she started, but her sentence fell through the air; he didn't turn back around at her voice.

He continued on his trek down the dark, rainy street and the team began to follow him. They could all hear small sniffles coming from the boy and would occasionally see a hand go up to his face to wipe away a tear.

"What's wrong with Wally?" M'gaan asked as she gazed worriedly at their speedy friend.

"Don't you get it?" Robin asked. "This is Sad Wally."

"I don't like it…" M'gaan said sadly.

It was during their time with Wally that the team began to hear sounds other than the thunder and rain. The city was no longer silent; instead they could hear angry shouts, screams, and crying coming from every alleyway they walked past. But, following their instincts, whenever they checked inside to see if anyone needed help there was no one there. After about fifteen minutes they all passed by another alleyway with loud, thumping music; but again when they walked past, there was no one there.

They were about to ask why these sounds were coming out the narrow passageways when Wally turned right into yet another of these alleyways. The others walked quicker to turn the corner as well, but when they stepped inside, Wally was nowhere in sight. This alleyway also stuck out because there was no noise coming from it.

"Where'd he go now?" Superboy asked.

"I'm not-" Robin started to answer but was then cut off by extremely loud and angry shouting; following it came the sound of glass breaking.

Instinct turned back on again and the young team rushed down the alleyway toward the sound. When they figured it out, they realized it was coming from inside the building; Robin saw a grimy, wooden door and he opened it. The sight they saw was disturbing.

The apartment consisted of a couch that appeared to be so worse for wear that the middle of it was sinking to the floor. The television was on a movie unknown to the team and the floor was stained with who knew what. The song "Asylum" by Disturbed played from a large stereo in the corner of the room, making the room even louder. There were remnants of cocaine lines along the coffee and kitchen table; needles used for methamphetamines were scattered along the countertops of the kitchen. But even that wasn't the most troublesome; huddled in the corner was a small, red-haired child, age . His emerald green eyes were wide in fear, one of them surrounded by a large purple-black bruise; the outer lining of it was turning yellow. The child's clothes appeared too big for his body; the t-shirt had the familiar Flash symbol in the middle and the child's jeans were reaching underneath his small tennis shoes.

A skinny yet large man loomed over him with pure and utter rage on his face. He had a shaved head and spit came out of his mouth with every swear word and every sentence of anger he shouted out at the kid.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING IDEA WHAT YOU'VE FUCKING DONE?" the man shouted at the cowering child.

"N-no…" the child said as tears poured down his face freely.

The man grabbed the child by the arm and that immediately made Robin spring into action. He jumped at the man but went straight through him, leaving entrails of smoke behind him. The smoke then billowed back to the man, filling in his shape once again. He didn't change in his violent tantrum, it was like Robin wasn't even there. And all him and the team could do was watch in horror as the small child was thrown into the television set.

It crashed to the floor, breaking the screen. Wally was full on sobbing down as he looked at his hand that was bleeding freely from the cracked glass of the television. But the man wasn't stopping, he then grabbed the first thing he saw; the television remote. He charged over backed the boy into the corner of the room and beat him over and over again with the device. The boy's face was right beside the blaring stereo, disorienting him even more.

"STOP FUCKING CRYING!" the man shouted. "YOU'LL ATTRACT ATTENTION!"

Sure…like the loud heavy metal didn't already attract attention.

The man must have been tired then because he was breathing heavy as he tossed the remote to the side. The music had gone away. He still stood over the sobbing child when the small voice was heard.

"What did I do?" Wally asked in a heavily tear-stained voice.

The man looked down at him with the biggest and uttermost glare. His bottom lip still quivered in anger as he said, "You were born." He then kicked him and walked through the team and out the door.

The team rushed over to the sobbing child who hadn't began to try getting up yet. He still lay huddled in the corner, knees up to his chest and grasping at the Flash symbol on his chest; it was as if he were mentally begging the speedster to come and save him.

They all bent down and were going to help the younger form of their friend. M'gaan looked on the verge of tears and the others held looks of pure anger and resentment toward the large gentleman that had put Wally in this state. But then a voice behind them startled them from what they were doing.

"Time to go." Sad Wally had returned.

"But what about-" Artemis insisted as she turned back to the four-year-old Wally. But she let out a small gasp when she realized he was gone.

The room was no longer littered with cocaine, needles, or a broken television set. It was just an empty apartment. The only thing left inside the dimly lit room was them and the lasting sense of disturbing anguish that had just occurred in front of them.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you again for the great reviews everyone! I truly appreciate it. **A little bit of a heads up though.** If I take any longer than four days to update this story, then that most likely means I'm up to other teenage stuff or I'm busy with work. This is a really busy year for me so I don't really get to work on fanfics all that much. But anyway, here's the newest installment!

**Warning: **Disturbing sexual/rape/harassment themes lie ahead.

ENJOY.

**Inside Your Mind**

**C3**

Martian Manhunter, Batman, Black Canary, and Flash all sat in the same spot in the med bay. The red clad speedster was talking in a low, quick voice to his nephew as he held his stiff hand. The boy's eyes had been closed so they wouldn't become overly dry and his mouth had been closed as well. The dried blood was still on the side of his face, however. They all weren't sure whether they should use a sample of it or not in an attempt to figure out what caused him to be like this.

"How long have they been in there?" Black Canary asked as she leaned against the wall, gazing Kid Flash from a short distance.

Batman stood beside her and answered, "A little over an hour."

"What could be taking them so long?" she asked with concern etched on her face.

Martian Manhunter seemed to hear their conversation and he answered, "It could take hours depending on how long they have to search through Wally's mind. Who knows what kind of obstacles are in there."

"Obstacles?" the blonde trainer asked as she tipped her head to the side.

"When you explore ones' mind, there can be obstacles that block your path," the martian said. "But it all depends on what parts in the mind you go to."

Black Canary did not respond to this, but she seemed to understand what he meant; or at least partly. She looked back over at the two speedsters and she sighed. She hoped that this all worked out.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"What the heck was that all about?" Artemis asked angrily.

The Young Justice team was now walking through back alley ways as the rain continued to pour on them. Rain dripped from their hair as they followed Wally down every sidewalk and around every turn. The speedster looked at her with his sad eyes but didn't have a chance to respond as Artemis snapped at him again.

"Why could we not help him out? Or-or, I mean you out?" she demanded as she clenched her fists.

Wally stopped in front of a dead end, but a hole was broken through at the bottom of the wall; it was big enough for even a grown man to crouch down and go through. But the boy did not go through it, instead he looked at the blonde girl; rain drops were dripping from his hair and onto his face. "All of that already happened. There was no saving that had to be done."

"But-but that man-" she argued. Her tone then softened a bit as she asked, "That was your father wasn't it?" Artemis knew what it was like to have an angry father, but her father and Wally's father were different.

The team awaited Wally's answer. They had decided not to stop Artemis on her tantrum with Wally this time; they as well wanted to know why they could not help the poor boy. It pained them that they couldn't, and now it was all they could think about.

Wally turned and looked at the crumbling brick wall. Artemis could see drops of rain on his face, but she knew which ones were tears and which weren't.

"What happened, happened," he answered in a quiet voice as he continued staring with blood shot eyes at the wall. "The past has been done, there is no changing it."

Robin looked away at the wall beside him and closed his eyes. He knew of Wally's past, but he had never actually been at the scenes when they happened. When he and Wally met, the boy was already living with Barry and Iris.

Robin then turned back to his friend as he saw him crouching down through the hole in the wall. The others, of course, followed him, wondering whether they were going to see another troubling scene. They did not want to, but knew they were going to have to if it meant saving their friend. The boy wonder crawled through first, followed by Artemis, Aqualad, Superboy, and finally M'gaan.

"What the-" Artemis said, but didn't finish her sentence.

"Oh no," Robin said in a low voice as if he knew what was coming.

The room's walls and ceiling were painted black; there was a black light on that made everything glow in the room. But despite the glowing, the room still seemed so dark. There were drugs littering the room, just like at the apartment. The bed in the middle of the small room was unmade and there were some pillows scattered all over the dirty floor. The room was so small that the end of the bed came close to touching the team's knees. And it wasn't until a few seconds passed of checking out the room that they noticed someone was in the bed, under the covers.

And, again, Wally was nowhere in sight.

Aqualad walked over to the side of the bed to see who was under the covers. He bent down low to see if he could tell and he saw long red hair on the pillow. His brows furrowed, but he knew that if he tried to move the covers to see further that he wouldn't be able to. The blanket would just turn into smoke at his touch.

"NO!" a distraught voice cried from the other room.

This startled the team from their inspecting and they rushed out of the small room through the ajar door. What they saw next was more disturbing than back at the apartment. Loud metal music immediately greeted them once again, coming from a stereo in the corner. Robin recognized this song as "Stricken" by Disturbed.

A five-year-old Wally lay on the floor, his face held pure fear and confusion. Another bruise was around his eye; the first thought would be that his dad had beat him again, but the man on top of him could have also been a liable suspect. The man wore only a wife beater and boxers and he pinned the boy down, holding his wrists down on the floor.

"Quit struggling you little-" the man ordered through gritted teeth as he lifted the grey, overly-large sweatshirt up to reveal the smaller boy's brown khakis. These were also too big for his small frame; an old scraggly belt was needed to help hold them up. But the man's goal was definitely not to keep the pants up, and the opposition of this is what sprang Robin into action again. But the hand of Aqualad came on his shoulder, halting him.

"Remember, friend," he says in a soft yet angered voice. "We can do nothing but watch."

Robin slouched defeatedly as he watched the younger version of his friend struggle underneath the older sex-enraged man. Once the man had finally undone the belt, he grinned sickly as he started to pull the pants below the child's waist.

"Well I'm going to try anyway," Superboy's growled out as he lunged forward at the man pinning down his friend. But, as usual, all that Superboy managed to grab was smoke before it billowed back into the man.

"Hey!" a woman's voice came from behind the team. Superboy looked over as well, anger still on his face.

A woman walked right through the teenage justice team. She had red, wavy hair that went far down to the middle of her back, her eyes a pale green. She could have actually been taken as pretty if it weren't for the skinniness of her face and the bags under her eyes that plainly showed years of drug abuse. The woman held a cigarette to her lips and lit it, she then tucked the lighter into the left breast cup of her D-sized bra. All she wore was thin, black, lacy boy short underwear and a grey bra.

She walked gracefully over to them, her feet barely making a noise aside from a couple creaks in the floor. She looked down at the man with disdain as she removed the cigarette from in between her lips with two long fingers.

"That'll cost you," she said as smoke billowed out of her mouth.

"I'm already paying you-" the man growled but didn't get to finish.

"For _my _services," she interrupted him. "The kid normally doesn't have to come with me on my business trips-" Artemis scoffed at this. _Business trip?_ "-but when I heard you were interested in both genders…" she trailed off.

"Alright, alright," the man growled as he loosened his grip on the boy that lay shaking like a leaf on the floor. He stood up and reached into his pocket. "You did me a favor. How much more?"

The woman thought for a moment. "One hundred."

The man grumbled something incoherent and flipped out the money to her from his wallet. She woman smiled and took it gratefully, tucking it into hip lining of her underwear.

"Thank you," she purred.

"No, no," he said as the sick grin returned to his face again. "Thank _you_."

The two adults had failed to notice that the red-head had gotten up off the floor and ran out of the room. They only noticed when they heard the pattering footsteps from out in the apartment hallway.

"What the-" the man said before charging over to the door and throwing it open. "HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

Wally could hear the man charging after him but didn't stop as he opened the door to the stairwell and descended quickly down them. The team had followed the younger Wally down the stairs; he was a good floor below them. Wally was fast even before he got his powers.

The boy barged through the exit door and ran out into the gloomy city. Except, the sun was actually shining through the door as it opened to let Wally out. The stairwell door then closed but was immediately opened again by Robin. But what greeted him was not the sun. The city had gone back to its gloomy, rainy state once again.

The stairwell closed behind them loudly and the team looked behind them. The door was still there but they knew that once they opened it the woman and man would no longer be in the building. It was now just an empty shell just like all the other buildings and people in the dreary city.

"That was not right," Superboy growled out dangerously as he stomped forward. He was shaking with anger and from the adrenaline that anger had given him. What he would give for at least one punch in that guy's face. And the woman, the woman needed a good punch as well. "That was not right!" he shouted out at the team as he spun around to face them. They let him go on on this tantrum, knowing that his emotions were exactly what they were feeling. "WHO DID THOSE PEOPLE THINK THEY WERE TREATING HIM LIKE HE WAS NOTHING? LIKE HE WAS A PROP!"

The boy had turned from them again and was facing the opposite way and looking down the dreary street. Water fell from his hair as he fumed. Superboy might not know too much, but he knew that what that man was doing was not right. And it reminded him of how he was treated, what he was made for. He was just a prop created to defeat Superman. Other than that, it was like he was nothing. The muscular boy then felt a gentle touch on his clenched hand, M'gaan.

She looked up at him and said, "It's okay Conner. It's okay. He didn't get him." She still felt him shaking and she reassured him again with soft words, "The bad man didn't get him." These words also helped reassure her as well as the others. Superboy's shaking stopped, he closed his eyes and sighed.

"Where to now?" he snapped as he turned back around to face the others.

"I don't-" Aqualad started to answer before Wally came out of the alleyway closest to Superboy.

The boy just looked at them with the same depressing expression that he had been wearing during their whole disturbing visit to this area of his mind. He walked past them, not saying a word, and walked across the street. The others followed him as he stopped in front of a blank brick wall. The boy lifted up a hand but halted as M'gaan touched her team mate's shoulder gently and said, "I'm sorry."

The boy tensed under her touch but said nothing for a few moments. His hand that was up curled into a weak fist and went back down to his side. He stared at the wall in silence; the only other sound that could be heard was the hard rain falling all around them.

Wally then looked at M'gaan and said, "It is not your fault M'gaan."

"I wish we could have-" Superboy said through clenched teeth as he raised his fists.

"Me too," Wally agrees quietly and sadly.

These two words made Superboy look up at his friend. The speedster then turned back to the wall and lifted his hand again; upon touching it the wall jiggled and turned to the familiar clear jell-o substance. Wally turned to his friends once more with saddened eyes and then walked through the transparent wall. His friends followed behind him, hearing the suction-y noises around them as they made their way through the squishy material.

The young team walked completely through the squishy wall and listened as the holes that were left in their wake closed back up. What greeted them was not a dreary, dark city; instead there were shelved books on either side of them. The team walked forward through the isle of books and came out into a large, very sophisticated looking room.

This place was deffinetly as quiet as the city they were just in, minus the rain; and without the rain made it even more quiet. As the team started walking through the large room, they noticed it was filled with more isles of books, desks, and tables were all around. Some computers were scattered around as well. M'gaan looked up to see a large, shiny, gold chandelier hanging high above them. Her eyes glistened in its light as she looked up at it in awe.

"Are we…" Artemis said as she ran her fingers along a desk. "In a library?"

"It appears so," Aqualad said as he picked up a stray book; it surprised him when it didn't turn into smoke, instead it actually felt solid and real. Looking at the cover he read, "Psychology: Inside Other's Minds."

Robin chuckled at this, "That's strangely ironic."

The team was then startled by a noise; it sounded like ruffling paper. They all looked around for a source of the noise and came upon someone sitting on the far end of the room, reading a book. They noticed the red hair and they all tipped their heads at him in confusion. Why was he not coming to meet them like the other two Wally's had?

The team all walked over to their friend who had his back to them. He wore a navy blue and light grey colored argyle sweater with equally grey khaki pants. They heard another shuffle of paper as he flipped another page of his book over. He had one leg crossed over the other.

"Um…Wally?" M'gaan asked, but she didn't get an answer.

"Hey Baywatch!" Artemis said rudely.

Wally looked up at them over the rim of his bold-rimmed, slightly round and slightly rectangular prescription glasses. He gave them a small smile and said, "My apologies, I was in the depths of my reading mode. Warm greetings to you my friends slash aides slash allies slash coadjutors. Nice to see you despite you boorishly disrupting my reading of, "Einstein: His Life and Universe" by author, Walter Isaacson." Wally held up the book for reference. "But it is alright my flaxen, straw-haired friend. I suppose I was going to be dethroned from my reading world so as to aid you anyway so why I even started reading, I just have no idea!" He chuckled lightly to himself as his friends stared at him with agape mouths.

Artemis then asked, "Did you just say I have straw hair?"

The red-head ignored her and patted the cushion next to him and said, "Do sit. Though because I pat the cushion next to me, this does not mean you all can fit on this one couch with me. Though, I suppose you all know that because any individual in their requisite mind would."

Robin snickered into his hand as Artemis narrowed her eyes at the red-haired boy. "Great, we've switched from gloomy and depressing to a nerdy brainiac."

The team sat down, Robin beside Wally and the others on chairs. After hearing the term "nerd" Wally couldn't contain himself any longer, "And by the way, the term 'nerd' as you referred to me as, has the meaning of a smart person with an obsessive interest but also someone lacking in social grace."

There was silence in the room as the team wasn't completely sure how to answer to this statement. Artemis finally snapped, "You're point?"

"Well, I _clearly_ _have_ social grace," Wally said pointedly as he folding his hands over his knee that was crossed over the other leg.

M'gaan giggled as Artemis shot him a glare. "I beg to differ," she snapped.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Hope you enjoyed this installment! And the obstacles that Wally had talked about in the second chapter haven't come up yet btw. Just in case anyone was confused about that.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the week long wait everyone! Hope you all aren't too mad at me ]: Naahh, you're not mad at me, I'm too awesome (jk: )

ENJOY.

**Inside Your Mind**

**C4**

For the past ten minutes, the adolescents had listened to Wally talk, and talk, and talk, and talk. The worst part was that they couldn't understand half of what he was saying. His big vocabulary and overly-educated sentences were frying their brains. It had gotten to the point where M'gaan's eyes were staring off into the distance, Superboy's mouth was slacked open, and Artemis…well her glare was still there.

Robin and Aqualad seem to be to only ones to keep up with most of his conversation. Though, they too had their moments of confusion whenever the red-head would whip out words that they were not fond of. This Wally was also quick and witted with banter. Whenever Artemis were to make a moody comment to him, he would be quick and intelligent in his comeback.

It was driving her up the wall. She was about ready to punch the nerdy speedster right in the jaw. But she figured he'd just come up with yet another smart comeback to even that.

"And so in conclusion to this introductory conversation for I see that you all need help, I shall guide you-"

"Will you just tell us where to go?" Artemis snapped at Wally, interrupting him.

The speedster just looked at her, straightened his glasses and said, "I detect you are very impatient. But if you had been monitoring my words properly you would have heard the term "conclusion" and "Guide" which are basically the key point of my sentence."

Artemis sat gaping at him with anger and annoyance still etched across her face. More banter. Wally continued, "So therefore, I shall comply to your demand my edgy green clad friend. Let us go and bonanza the book we so very much desire."

With that, the intelligent boy stood up, brushed off his clothes with a lint roller that appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and started strutting away.

"I'm going to kill him," Artemis stated as she followed Wally with the rest of the team.

"This place seems familiar," Robin said, ignoring the archer's growling as he looked up at the high, bronze-tinted ceiling.

"Dear companion, that is because you have been here before," Wally said without looking at them. He was skimming a shelf for what book, the team didn't know.

"Oh yeah!" Robin said as realization lit his face. "This is Central City's main library!"

"Correct," Wally congratulated his younger friend.

"So is this your favorite library then, Wally?" M'gaan asked sweetly as the said boy leaned down and slid a book out from between two others.

It had a black cover but the others couldn't see what it was titled. Wally flipped it over and examined it before tucking it back into its spot on the shelf.

"Yes it is my favorite, M'gaan," he answered her as he continued walking.

They walked out into the main area and then over to a spiral staircase. The steps were made of metal and were a coppery-bronze color. Their steps clanged quietly as they walked up the constantly turning steps.

"It's lovely," M'gaan commented as she swiftly moved her hands along the cool, smooth banister. It felt so real, it was hard to imagine that this was all just in Wally's mind. "_Beautiful _actually."

"Gratitude I express to you for your praise," Wally said as he stepped onto the second level floor.

"So where are your twins, Mary Poppins and Moaning Myrtle?" Artemis asked.

"I predicate that you are speaking of happy me and sad me," Wally said as he walked into another aisle of books.

Artemis growled, "You predicated right."

"I am not sure where they are but-"

"You seem to know everything else," Artemis said under her breath.

"-I am sure you shall meet up with them again; if they are needed to aid you in your journey to your destination to bestir me." Wally stopped as he spotted another book. "Bonanza!"

"What?" Robin asked.

Wally slid out an extremely thick book from the shelf and turned to them with a grin on his face and said, "I found just what you all need!"

The team had walked out to a table while still on the second level of the library. Wally placed the book down on the table and sat down. He leafed through a brown leather book as the others gathered around him; they looked over his shoulder to see if they could see what use this book was to them. But all they saw were blank pages.

"How is this supposed to help us?" Artemis asked. "There are no words on the pages!"

"I do not need words, I merely need a picture," Wally said as he continued leafing through the thick book.

"I figured you of all people would just _have _to have a book with words," Artemis said.

Aqualad elbowed her in the ribs and she didn't say anything else. Wally continued flipped quickly through the pages until a page showed up with a picture of a weight-lifting room. The team looked at it with confusion before Wally touched the page and it jiggled into the jell-o substance.

"Dude, how are we supposed to fit through that?" Robin asked, pointing at the page.

Wally didn't answer but instead reached his arm through the page. He then appeared to start sinking into the table. But on the contrary, he was being pulled into the book. His friends watched as his whole arm and shoulder disappeared; he then grabbed Artemis' hand and Robin grabbed hers, Aqualad grabbed his and the chain followed.

IN the blink of an eye, they were sucked right into the book and thrown onto the tiled floor of the weight-lifting room. Superboy clanged into a plastic shelf with yoga balls, causing them to fall to the floor on top of him; the balls bounced across the room. Artemis groaned as she opened her eyes.

"Oh boy…" she groaned out at who she saw standing over her.

someone with tan, muscular legs and knee length black workout shorts stood over her and his face was grinning. One eyebrow was cocked up as he looked at her, she didn't like the expression he had on his face. It was similar to how he looked whenever he beat her in something.

"Well look who's crawling at my feet," he said cockily. "Hey sweetie pie, _how_ _you doin'?"_

Artemis glared at him and stood up, "I am not-"

"Wally!" M'gaan greeted him as she stood by Superboy who was standing up from where he collided with the shelf.

"Hey there pretty lady," he said with the smolder still on his face. "Might I say you are looking nice today! But of course I may say that because-" he gestured to himself with his hands, "I'm awesome."

Robin started laughing out loud, bending over from how hilarious the overly-confident Wally was. Aqualad couldn't help the smile that came to his face either.

"Oh man…this is gonna suck more than smart Wally," Artemis said as she crossed her arms.

"No need to be jealous, Arty," Wally said as he looked her up and down. "You're looking mighty fine today too."

"I'm not-!" Artemis started but was interrupted.

"No big deal," Wally said as he turned away from her and waved her protesting aside. "You're not the first one to be jealous of my attention to other girls. I tend to have that effect. It can get rather annoying actually…being this attractive." He sighed as though it were a real burden.

Artemis gaped at him as Robin was looking like he was about to topple over in uncontrollable laughter. Aqualad and Superboy were chuckling as well and M'gaan was having a giggling fit.

How could they think this was funny! Artemis was fuming and was tempted, yet again, to punch the cocky tool right in the jaw.

**/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Introducing Cocky/Overly Confident/Jocky/Tool Wally! Sorry I couldn't' sped more time on smart Wally, but he wasn't as important. Also, I figured that smart Wally should say Bonanza! because Sheldon from Big Bang says Bazinga! They're similar and yet probably have different meanings. This chapter was shorter than my others I think. But I figured this was a good spot to end it. Hope you enjoyed this newest installment!


	5. Chapter 5

No one kill me please. I realize I haven't updated for about two weeks or so. But I am now! *puts on innocent smile*Here's the newest installment!

ENJOY.

**Inside Your Mind **

**C 5**

The team of adolescents walked past different kinds of exercise equipment. The passed treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, and as they walked past a rack filled with medicine balls –from the least amount of weight up- Wally grabbed the heaviest one casually. He began tossing it up in the air and catching it as though it were a basketball.

Artemis rolled her eyes and asked, "Where exactly are we going?"

"So M'gaan…" Wally said with a grin, ignoring Artemis completely. "…how has your day been so far?"

"Um, hello?" Artemis said in exasperation.

"Relax Arty, I heard you," Wally said.

Artemis waited a moment but the red-head still didn't answer; instead he was spinning the medicine ball on his right middle finger like a basketball. He also picked up a large dumbbell with ease and began spinning it around his left finger.

"_Well?_" Artemis asked with even more exasperation.

"All you need to know is that you need to follow my lead," Wally said with the same boyish grin on his face and still spinning the exercise equipment cockily on his fingers.

Artemis growled but left it at that. Even if she had wanted to keep the conversation going she wouldn't have gotten the chance because Robin started talking to the speedster.

"How much do those things weigh?" Robin asked. It was an honest question because it didn't seem humanly possible, what Wally was doing with those heavy objects. It didn't look natural.

"In total?" Wally thought about it for a moment as they paused in walking and turned to them. "Maybe a little over a hundred pounds," he guessed.

Robin's eyes widened at this. "Dude! How are your fingers not like…broken?"

Wally let out a small hiss of laughter at this. "They're not heavy for the Wallmeister."

"Oh really?" Artemis had to let in another snarky comment.

Wally smirked at her cockily and said, "Really." He then tossed the medicine ball and dumbbell casually to her, catching her off guard, though, she still caught it. If she hadn't it could have easily broken a couple toes.

"You idiot!" She snapped at him, obviously realizing the danger in what he just did. "These are heavy enough to have-"

"Heavy?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, yeah! They're like…" Artemis' eyes then grew wide in realization. She looked down at the objects in her hands and tossed one up in the air with ease. It did not feel fifty pounds, not even close. Instead it felt as though she were holding a mere softball. "…not heavy," she finished with awe clear in her voice. "How did you do that?"

"This section is partly where my adrenaline comes from," Wally answered as he lifted up a weight that appeared to be over fifty pounds; he tossed it from one hand to the other. "This section as well as the sad and anger section."

"Anger section?" M'gaan questioned. She did not like the sound of that place, and she didn't even want to imagine an angry Wally. She had seen a part of that side of him during their Failsafe mission when they all thought that Artemis had died.

"Yeah," Wally answered. "But let me just say that I am a lot for likable."

"I think I would rather have an angry Wally then a fratty, cocky Wally," Artemis mumbled.

"So what does adrenaline have to do with these weights being light?" Aqualad asked as he too lifted up a weight with great ease.

"Well you know when adrenaline hits and it feels like nothing can stop you? Yeah," he answered as he tossed Robin the weight he had been playing around with. "I think I'm 99.9% adrenaline though because…I'm capable of anything," he chuckled out the words as though they were an obvious fact.

Robin laughed at this. "Whatever you say."

"Such a tool…" Artemis shook her head as they began walking again.

Robin was still playing with the unnaturally light weight that Wally had tossed him; he was throwing it up in the air and catching it when the new discovery took place.

"So Wally, how many more specific pieces of you do we have yet to find?" Aqualad asked.

As soon as this question was asked Wally stopped dead. He stopped so abruptly in his walking that the others almost ran into him.

"Wally?" Aqualad asked in concern, wondering if he had said something wrong.

"Hello? Baywatch!" Artemis tried, but even her smart mouth didn't make him talk.

"Woah!" Robin cried out as his ninety pound weight suddenly became the natural weight it was supposed to be. He had just caught the weight in his hands when he felt the sudden great pressure on his hands and arms. He dropped the weight immediately on the floor and said, "I am _so_ glad that that wasn't in midair."

"Why isn't it light anymore?" M'gaan asked and Robin shook his head.

"I don't know." He then walked in front of his best friend and looked at him. "Wally, KF?"

Wally looked as though he was frozen in time. But what was once a look of cocky self-satisfaction was now a look of great fear. The others had come to stand in front of the young speedster as well and they too noticed his frightened look.

"What's wrong with him?" Superboy asked.

"I…don't know," Robin answered truthfully. "KF, come on, snap out of it buddy." The boy wonder had begun snapping his fingers in front of his face and shaking his shoulders. Nothing was working to snap his friend out of this state.

"I don't understand," Aqualad said in pure confusion and guilt. "All I did was ask a question."

"It's alright Kal," Robin reassured him. "I'm sure this isn't your fault."

"There's nothing you can do," a familiar mopey voice said from behind the team.

They all jumped in great surprise at the random voice; whirling around they saw Sad Wally looking forlornly at them. He still wore his black hoodie and gray jeans from before. His hands were tucked into his hoodie pocket as he looked at them with his usual saddened eyes.

"Wh-where did you come from?" Artemis asked with surprise in her voice.

Instead of waiting for Wally to answer, if he was even going to, Aqualad asked, "Wally, what is wrong with…this Wally?" he asked uncertainly, pointing at the once cocky red-head who still held a fearful expression. It was eerie, having two Wally's in the room at the same time.

Wally looked at the floor for a moment and then back up at the aqua boy, "Your question."

Guilt covered Aqualad's features again at this. Wally turned away from them and began walking away with the usual slump to his walk.

"Wait!" Superboy called after him and he stopped in his tracks. "What about the…other you?"

Sad Wally looked at them and answered, "There is no helping him now. He's…somewhere else."

This confused the team even more. Somewhere else? What in the world was Wally talking about, somewhere else?

"No he's not, he's right here," M'gaan said cluelessly as she pointed at cocky Wally.

"His form is still here, but his being isn't," the depressed red-head answered her.

"But…I don't-" M'gaan was about to state the rest of the team's confusion about not understanding until she touched cocky Wally's shoulder and something even more strange happened.

Right at the green martian's gentle touch, Wally began to crack. _Literally_ crack. Under her finger tips began a constant breakage of the frozen teenage speedster. M'gaan brought her hand back so quickly as though she had been burned; her eyes widened and her mouth dropped, along with the rest of the team's, as they watched their friend break even more. Cracks trailed along his whole body until he looked like a broken piece of glass. Once these cracks had completely covered his clothes and skin, Wally turned as gray as concrete; the speedster then broke apart into many different pieces on the floor.

The team stood stunned in the same spot with the same expressions for a long moment. They all looked instead at what looked to be a pile of gray rubble where their friend once stood. What broke the moment of stunned silence was M'gaan's whimper.

"Wha-what did I do?" she asked as she trembled. All she had done was touch him.

"He's somewhere else now," Wally said sadly from behind them.

The team turned to the other form of their friend, almost having forgotten he was there.

"Wh-" Aqualad began to ask but Wally winced and cut him short, his lip quivering.

"Please don't ask me where," Wally said in a quiet, broken voice.

Aqualad closed his mouth immediately. He was unsure as to why Wally seemed so fearful of him asking such a simple question, but he decided to let it go.

Wally loosened up a bit, realizing that his friend was not going to ask the question, and he looked at them. "P-please follow me."

The others abliged this meek request and followed their terribly sad friend down a white hallway. The walls were made of wide, thick bricks and plastered with white paint. There was bright flurescent lighting on the ceilings guiding their way to the end where a single door awaited them.

It was strange; for such a long hallway, there was only one door. It didn't look any different than a normal door. It was wooden with a shiny silver doorknob. They could tell this even from their thirty feet span away from it.

No one spoke as they followed Wally down the blank, bright hallway. They still had the image in their minds of their friend crumbling before their very eyes. Especially M'gaan, since she was the one that had touched him. She grimaced at the memory of her friend cracking beneath her fingers like extremely fragile glass. There was then a comforting weight on her shoulder and she looked over to see Superboy's hand was placed there gently. Looking at him, she saw him give her a small, yet soothing smile. This calmed her a good bit, though she was still shaken up.

Robin looked up as a flurescent light on the ceiling started flickering wildly. He could hear the clicks as it fluttered from on to off. The others had noticed too, and for some odd reason, it made them uneasy.

The uncomfortable feeling they all had in their guts then intensified as the other lights in the hallway began flickering and clicking wildly. Wally, however, continued walking closer and closer to the door.

By this time, the whole team had stopped in uneasiness at the flickering lights. It was then that they heard the faint sounds of lights clicking completely off and they whipped around to to see the lights in the gym were completely off, showing just a black abyss. The lights on the far end of the hallway then began flicking off quickly in their direction.

M'gaan then turned to Wally, automatically assuming that he knew what was happening. She had a nervous look on her face as she said his name in question, "Wally?"

The speedster turned to them as the lights continued shutting off. His expression was full of fear as he said, "We must keep moving."

The others didn't question him and followed him quickly, still hearing the lights shutting off behind them. It was an unsettling feeling, having a dark abyss behind you. But they were all relieved when they were in front of the door and Wally gripped the door handle. But he didn't open it.

"Wally?" Aqualad asked.

"Please don't hate me," Wally said in a tear stained voice.

This request was so random it caught them all off guard, momentarily forgetting about the lights shutting off behind them.

"Wally, why would we hate you?" M'gaan asked as Robin placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

There were then only five lights left that were still on behind the team; they shut clicked off quickly one-by-one as they awaited Wally's answer. But he never game them one.

Just as the last light went off, Wally turned the doorknob and opened it.

Through the dark abyss all around them, they just heard his distressed reply.

"Just, please don't hate me."

...

...

...

CLIFFY! I love them [: Okay, so I probably would have been able to update this story yesterday, but my computer was messing up all over the place. GRRR! But I managed to finish this today, lucky for all of you!

Until next time update!


	6. Chapter 6

I would like to thank all of you who have reviewed, favorited, and followed this story thus far! You are all awesome ( :

The version of Scarecrow I am using is the one from Batman Arkham Asylum. I, personally, prefer that look for him over any others. Except, in my fic, he is wearing more clothes XD

ENJOY.

**Warning: **Violence/gore is featured in this chapter as well as strong language.

**Inside Your Mind**

**C6**

Batman stood in Mount Justice, staring up at the large floating screen that he often used to show the Young Justice team or Justice League where missions were and who they would be dealing with. He also used it for the same purpose he was using it now: to solve mysteries.

He stared at multiple different photos of the main suspect behind Kid Flash's coma. It was no doubt that the gas that put Kid Flash in such a state was the work of Scarecrow. Batman knew of the weapons that the villain could create; the majority of them were used to spark fear in his victims.

The dark knight scanned his eyes over to a photo he had taken of Kid Flash when the Young Justice team had brought him in. His eyes were clouded and milky like a ghoul's; blood leaked from his gums and lip - trailing down his cheek from facing upward. His mouth open in a silent scream. There was no doubt it was Scarecrow's doing – no doubt at all.

"Any luck?" a voice came from behind the Batman and he turned to see Green Lantern stride into the room. He had only just gotten there about an hour before, hearing of Kid Flash's condition and the mystery of it all.

"No more than before," Batman answered seriously. "All I know is that this is Scarecrow's doing."

The Green Lantern's bright glowing eyes looked up at the screen. The monstrosity that was Scarecrow stared at him hauntingly. The hero knew that it was just a photo on a screen, and that it wasn't the real villain in the same room as him, but it still gave him chills. The villain had broad shoulders despite his skinny frame. His clothes hung from his gangly frame as he stared straight forward at the camera lens that was taking his picture. His eyes, they could not be seen – his real ones at least. His mask was partly made from his hood on his long worn-out leather jacket. It came up over the top of his head and, sewn to it was the loose lighter-colored leather textile that covered his face. From out of the sides of his face stuck out round circles – Green Lantern assumed them to be ventilators – that prevented him from breathing in his own gas concoctions. In the place of his eyes were mere black holes. And in the place of his mouth: a tear in the mask with mere thick strings keeping the rip from tearing open completely.

Through all of his years of being a hero, he had never met the villain – there had never been a dire need for his particular help. He had heard of his works though, and he was mainly glad that he hadn't been subject to any of his self-made drugs.

Batman, still looking at the screen, said, "He's the only liable suspect we have."

"Well it was his gas wasn't it?" Green Lantern asked from beside the dark knight.

"Yes, though I don't recognize it. It must be a new creation of his."

"Do you have any idea of where he might be?" Green Lantern asked.

Batman did not answer for a moment, his fists gripping a little tighter. "Inside Kid Flash's mind."

Green Lantern's eyes grew wide at this. "He has the ability to do that?"

"He's never actually physically gone inside anyone's mind before now. Normally the way he works is tapping into your own nightmares and letting them do the rest of the job."

Batman could be considered a second mentor after Flash. The two heroes had both agreed that if anything were to happen to Flash then he would watch over Wally and Iris, keep them as far from harm as possible. And the deal went the same way with Batman. Though he had never admitted it before, Batman trusted Flash a lot. If anything were to happen to him, he could trust that Flash would take care of Robin as though he were his own flesh and blood. The man in the red suit had a big heart to go with that big ego of his, and the same went for Kid Flash.

The Green Lantern looked back at the screen and wondered just how Scarecrow got the ability to do this. What drove him to transform into such an abomination?

"He studied psychology during his short time in college," Batman said, seeming to read his mind. "He would experiment on human subjects and then observe how they would react to his gases and other toxins. He has a sick obsession with watching other people's fear; and an even sicker obsession with watching their fear if he, himself, causes it."

The Green Lantern stared at Batman, pondering over this last bit of information on the villain. There was a another short pause before he spoke, "And he's inside Kid Flash's mind right now?" Batman nodded grimly. "And the rest of the Young Justice team, there-?"

"Inside there with him," Batman finished as he clenched his fists even tighter.

The Green Lantern shuddered as he thought about what that man, if he could even be called that, was doing to Kid Flash's mind at that moment. And another disturbing thought entered his mind at that moment; if the rest of the team is in there with him, what might become of them?

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Robin, M'gaan, Aqualad, Superboy, and Artemis looked around as the lights turned back on. But they were not in the gym anymore, nor was Wally still with them. He had done yet another one of his famous disappearing acts.

"Where are we?" Artemis asked as she looked around the place.

The others weren't sure where they were either, but it looked to be some sort of warehouse. The lighting in this place was very dim and appeared to be partially tinted red somehow. Partially rusted chains hung from hooks on the wall and from the ceiling; big machinery was scattered all about the crowded warehouse. But none of them could see what the significance of this warehouse was, they couldn't figure out what objects it made.

They had little time to ponder however as they heard footsteps clanking on metal. The team darted their heads around, trying to find where this noise was coming from, but they saw no one.

It was then that they saw a bright form appear right in front of them; it was the brightest form in the whole warehouse. Kid Flash.

They assumed that this flashback they were in was a time before his dark grey uniform was an option. Normally, in a dark area like this, he would change his bright yellow to the dark grey, making him for difficult to spot.

Kid Flash crouched behind a large wooden crate; the team noticed how much younger he looked. His face was slightly less mature and his muscles were not as big as they were in the present time. He appeared to be no more than fourteen.

"Come out, come out little Flashy," a deep voice, thick with a Boston accent, rang out in a sing-songy voice. "You can't hide forever."

The team could not figure out where the voice had come from, but they had a feeling of recognition as the voice rang in their memory as well. Where had they heard that voice before? The team didn't have much time to ponder on it as Kid Flash took off out from behind his hiding spot. The others ran as fast as they could, of course not catching up with him but still managing to find where he had run to.

The young speedster had ran to the bottom of some metal stairs, he crouched in the shadows as best he could, trying to hide from the assailant that the team had yet to see. The metal stairs led up to higher levels of skinny metal walkways; they looked hardly able to hold anyone up on them from how wobbly they were. More footsteps could be heard on the walk ways above them and it was then that the team saw who the person was that was looking for the yellow-clad speedster. And they all felt their hearts beat faster.

The man resembled Wally in certain ways. And his appearance now appeared healthier and less bony than when they had seen him before.

In the blink of an eye, Kid Flash dashed up the metal stairs and ran straight into the man, knocking him off his feet. The man fell hard on his back and gasped for the air that had jolted out of his body forcefully. He was glad that the speedster had only nipped him in the side, otherwise, he would most likely have had a broken rib or two. Ignoring the pain from the hit though, the man stood up immediately in determination and looking around wildly. A grin then broke out on his face.

The team ran up the stairs toward the fight and were, soon enough, standing five feet away from the man. He held up the gun in his hand and aimed it at every spot that he thought the speedster might be at.

"Come on out you little bitch. Runnin' won't save you. I'll get you, you know I will so why ru- Ah!" the gun was knocked out of his hand so quickly he hardly had time to process what had happened.

As the gun slid across the unsteady floor; the man made hectic grabs for it on his hands and knees. It slid all the way over to the team's feet, Robin's in particular. When he crawled pathetically in front of him, Robin had the sudden yearning urge to kick him square in the face; maybe even break his nose or cheek bone while he was at it. But he knew that this act of violence would do nothing toward this man, for he was just a mere memory.

When the man finally snatched up the gun, he stood up and looked furiously around. His eyes were lit up with rage as he gripped the gun tight in his hands. "COME ON!" he shouted at the speedster. "COME OUT OF HIDING YOU LITTLE FUCKING RUNT! COME FACE ME LIKE A MAN!"

There were a few short moments of silence, aside from the man's heavy breathing and the occasionally creaks of metal. The team was wondering the same thing: why was Kid Flash resisting? He was normally up to fight bad guys, more than willing to punch them, and loved to kick them with his ever so powerful legs. So why not do these actions now?

There was then a sound from right above the team and the man whipped his gun around and shot blindly. But his bullet had made its mark. There was a small thud of a bullet hitting a body and a slight 'oof' as the air was knocked out of them. There was also a noise that sounded as though a large machine had turned on and, mysteriously, like glass clinking together. But this was soon forgotten as the team watched in horror as the man shot at their friend again and again until a figure fell from one of the walk ways above and landed with a loud clang on the metal floor; the team was surprised that the floor didn't break through from the impact. The team's concern then went away, but only slightly, when they saw that the bullets had hit his bullet proof material only. It had merely knocked the breath from his lungs.

The man then smiled widely and let out a small cackle of laughter. He strode over to the boy on the floor and aimed the gun at his head, so close that it was near impossible to miss the target.

Kid Flash looked up into the barrel of the gun and then at the man's smirking face. It was a face he had grown up with, one he repulsed and reluctantly feared.

"Gotcha," the man said as he brought back the hammer with a click.

But just as he was about to shoot the bullet into Kid Flash's head, the speedster whipped out his arm and knocked his legs out from under him. He then scrambled up on his feet but was stopped as the man hopped back up almost immediately and grabbed the speedster around the chest and pushed him back against the railing. His hands then moved to Kid Flash's neck and he began to squeeze. He choked him relentlessly, denying any air to fill his lungs.

Kid Flash looked into the face of his enraged assailant until he brought his knee up right into the man's stomach. He immediately released his hold on the boy's neck and stepped back, gasping for air.

The red-haired boy took this time for granted and punched the man in the face, hard. This violent action caused him to stumble backwards into the railing. But there was then the dangerous sound of metal bending and tearing as the railing broke under the man's weight. His eyes grew wide as he felt himself fall ever further down.

Kid Flash rushed over to the broken railing and looked down; the team then saw his eyes widen in horror.

Upon seeing their friend's expression, they went quickly over and stood beside him and looked down as well. The man had not fallen on the floor in a heap though; he had instead landed in what appeared to be a large bowl filled with broken bottles and glasses. But this was not the worst part. The glass was _spinning_.

The man had fallen into a glass crusher.

Kid Flash stared in horror as the man tried to fight his way out of the glass. He cried out in pain as the glass pierced his skin over and over again. His arms waved frantically as he continued his attempts to escape. Blood dripped from his hands and arms from the glass tearing his skin.

"YOU FUCKING LITTLE FUCK!" the man shouted at the young hero above him. "YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING PAY! I'LL GET YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH! MARK MY FUCKING WORDS!"

The man's enraged shouting was becoming muffled as he was buried even more by the glass and his screams of pain erupted from his lungs; the glass crusher was without a doubt winning the fight. The team watched as the man disappeared completely under the glass.

There was then the sound of doors banging open and footsteps running inside. The familiar sound of Flash's voice could be heard from below and Kid Flash took off in an instant. After spending about half a minute to catch up to the short distance that Kid Flash had run, the team heard Flash ask his sidekick, "Where is he?"

The events that followed were gruesome and horrendous. As medical personnel went to the glass crusher and pulled out the body, there was a wet slap on the concrete as it hit the floor. There was a loud gasp that came from the young speedster's lips as his eyes grew wide at the sight.

The team stared in horror at the man who was, now, almost unrecognizable. His arms and hands were sliced deeply and were bleeding freely onto the floor; his clothes were ripped in several places but they had gotten off light compared to the man's skin. The man's face was a bloodied mess of raw flesh. Skin hung off in slabs, a couple in particular were hanging from his face so far that they touched the cold floor. Muscle could be seen, indicating just how deeply the glass had plowed into his skin. If the man even had eyes anymore, the team did not know. There was too much blood to tell even that. A police officer started gagging loudly at the sight.

Kid Flash's face contorted from horror to pain to disgust as he continued looking at the body. He then began gagging and he ran off, at normal pace, behind a crate and began puking his guts out. His retching could be heard as he continued emptying the contents of his stomach.

He was disgusted. He was disgusted by the appearance of the man, by the fact that it was his fault he looked like this, and he was disgusted that he had done nothing to stop it. He could have run back up to where he had run into the machine in the first place and switch it off, putting an end to the man's agony. But instead, he had just stood there and watched. Watched as his flesh was torn and ripped until it was nothing but a piece of raw meat.

A police officer then spoke into his walkie talkie, "We have the drug lord, but he is not-"

The team ignored the police officer's report to his boss. Instead they listened to the thought reverberating through their own mind as well as Kid Flash's.

Kid Flash had killed his own father.

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If any of you readers have seen Punisher War Zone, then that whole glass crusher scene may seem familiar. But I figured that that would fit into this story nicely so I used that scene and made it into something a little different. And I know I didn't mention in the earlier chapter that Wally's father's accent was Boston, but I didn't want to give anything away when I mention his Boston accent in this chapter! Of course...when I said the man resembled Wally, that most likely gave it away...oh well!

Hope you enjoyed the newest installment!


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